


A Waterfall in a Box

by AcesOfSpade



Category: Marvel, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Crushes, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, M/M, Teenage Dorks, also wanda and vision for best parents, and tommy teasing his brother, billy actually grows a pair, teddy is an oblivious ray of pure sunlight, this is just shameless fluff really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-22 16:37:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12486064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcesOfSpade/pseuds/AcesOfSpade
Summary: You'd think that by senior year, Billy Maximoff would've grown a pair already and justasked his best friend out already. Alas, you'd be wrong. At least until prom is on the horizon, and Billy finally does what he's been dreaming of for years.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyy, my first attempt at BillyTeddy-centric fluff. Background ScarletVision, because they are my weakness, esp when they have the twins. RIP me, this is just tooth-rotting fluff. I'm probs gonna write a follow-up too, so watch out for that.

_I can do this_ he told himself firmly. _I’ve done more terrifying things without batting an eye. Why is this scaring me?_

 

Billy kept repeating that to himself as he paced in front of his bedroom mirror, running his hand through his hair nervously. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he was. Overwhelmingly nervous. For what? Oh, just asking his long-time best friend to prom. No big deal, right? Ah, who was he kidding? It was going to be the most nerve-wracking thing Billy had ever done. He could do this, he could ask Teddy to be his date.

 

Taking a deep breath, Billy started getting ready for school. He had to dig around for the scarf Teddy had given him for a birthday present, just because he was a goddamned dork. After draping it around his neck and spending a few minutes fussing with it, he grabbed the little wrapped box off his nightstand and slipped it into his backpack with a deep breath. He could do this.

 

Almost the second Billy stepped out of his bedroom, his twin brother Tommy skidded to a halt in front of him with a teasing grin. He raised an eyebrow at Billy’s expression, chuckling softly.

 

“Is Billy-boy finally gonna ask out his crush?” Tommy teased, ruffling Billy’s hair, much to Billy’s protests. “Hey, it’ll go fine,” he assured his brother in a rare moment of assurance.

 

“Thanks,” Billy muttered, shaking his head to knock Tommy’s hand off so he could go snag an apple for breakfast. Mama was sitting at the kitchen island with her tablet, probably keeping tabs on Papa on his latest mission. She looked up when she saw the twins, smiling warmly.

 

“Good morning, my little angels,” Mama smiled, brushing some loose hair from her face. She’d obviously been up for a while, talking to Papa and making sure he was getting his mission done. Mama always got worried when she and Papa didn’t do missions together, which the twins thought was adorable. Mama and Papa really did care about each other, which was more than the twins could say for their friends’ parents. Billy and Tommy were lucky in that respect. Their friends had to stand by and watch their parents fight, and in some cases divorce, but not the twins. Their parents were still together, after 25 years or so.

 

“Morning, Mama,” the twins responded as usual, seeking out their usual breakfast foods. Billy found his green apple already on the counter for him, smiling in thanks to his Mama. Tommy’s muffin was right next to it, for which Tommy smiled over as well. Mama always got their breakfast out if she was home, leaving them on the counter so the twins could grab them and head for the bus.

 

Grabbing their breakfasts, the twins brushed passed Mama, kissing the top of her head as they headed for the door. Mama watched them go with a smile before turning back to her tablet to talk to Papa.

 

The bus stop was as quiet as usual when the twins got there. They made a habit of getting there ten minutes before the bus actually got there so they could sit and talk for a bit, until everyone else showed up. The bus stop was the only place Billy and Tommy were ever 100% honest and open with each other, and they would pretend it never happened once the bus got there.

 

Billy spoke up first, looking over at his brother. “You really think I can do it?” he asked quietly, biting his lip nervously.

 

“You’re a dork, Billy, but you’re not a coward,” Tommy assured him. “You can do anything, even ask Teddy out. Hell, you’ve faced off against the _Wrecking Crew_. The least you can do is ask out your best friend.”

 

“Thanks, Tommy,” Billy smiled softly, feeling a renewed confidence. He could do this. He could ask Teddy to prom. The two were silent until the bus arrived, filing onto the bus with everyone else. Tommy went to sit at the back with Cassie, Billy taking his usual spot behind the door. He took the time during the ride to psych himself up more, willing himself to believe he could do this. Even with Tommy’s confidence in him, Billy still had a nagging doubt that this wouldn’t work out.

 

He forced himself to not think about it as they arrived at school, stepping off the bus to head for his second-floor locker. He threw out his apple core when he passed a trash can, making the shot without looking. As usual, a few freshmen were hanging near it, applauding Billy’s shot as if he didn’t make that shot every morning.

 

Through some external force he was sure, Billy found Teddy waiting at his locker as he approached. Billy absently adjusted his scarf when he saw Teddy, shoving a hand into his pocket in an attempt to appear casual.

 

Teddy perked up when he saw Billy, smiling at his best friend in the way that made Billy’s heart flutter. “Morning, Billy,” he greeted, pushing off where he was leaning against the locker next to Billy’s. “You get Shade’s homework done? ‘Cause that wasn’t easy,” he asked, not noticing how nervous Billy looked.

 

“Hell no,” Billy shook his head, some of the nerves melting away. “I think that man lives to torture his students or something, because six pages of chem homework on a Monday night? Definitely some kind of sadist,” he joked, fiddling with his lock to open it. His locker squeaked as it opened, making Billy sigh. He’d told the janitors countless times his locker squeaked, but apparently they didn’t care. Rolling his eyes, he just hung his backpack on the hook and grabbed his chemistry books.

 

“No shit,” Teddy chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Has Wendy not oiled that yet?” he noted, pointing to the top hinge of his locker door.

 

“I guess she’s too busy being anal about the cafeteria chair to table ratio,” Billy shrugged, closing his locker again.

 

“Probably,” Teddy chuckled. “Now, to chemistry. Where we’re going to have to bullshit an excuse as to why our homework isn’t done.”

 

“Because ‘we have to sleep’ isn’t a valid excuse at this point,” Billy pointed out. “Does that man even sleep?” he wondered as they headed to class. At least Shade’s classroom was in the brightest hallway in the school. The biology and chemistry shared hallway was made mostly of windows, letting the sunlight in to brighten up the dreary school.

 

“Maybe he’s a vampire,” Teddy shrugged. “Wait, then he wouldn’t be able to get to his classroom,” he realized, shaking his head. “The world may never know,” he decided as they got to the classroom door, parting to sit in their assigned seats. Shade wasn’t the kind of teacher that let you sit anywhere as long as you payed attention. No, he had an alphabetical seating arragement as if this were kindergarten again.

 

Billy was having trouble paying attention during the lesson, back to stressing over his plans for lunch. Shade didn’t notice, or didn’t care, that Billy wasn’t answering as many questions as usual, too focused on the kid near the back playing video games instead of listening. David Xavier was notorious for that kind of thing. He shouldn’t even have to be in this class, seeing as he’d already passed it twice, but he liked annoying Shade, so he kept coming back. Billy admired him for that. He wished he had the balls to annoy Shade the way David did.

 

Class ended in the middle of Shade grilling David on the contents of the lesson, so Billy got out quickly and waited for Teddy outside.

 

“Dude, I think David has a death wish,” Teddy grinned when he met up with Billy.

 

“I don’t even know why he’s here at all,” Billy commented. “Didn’t he graduate already?”

 

“He did, but the principal didn’t want him to start university at 15, so he kept him back a few years to help him ‘become more social’,” Teddy shrugged, making air quotes around the last words.

 

“Why would he need that?” Billy frowned. “David’s father runs a school for mutants,” he stated. “He can socialize with anyone at his Dad’s school if he wants to, so why bother here?”

 

“Between you and me, Fury doesn’t want to let go of his best asset,” Teddy muttered near Billy’s ear, making the other boy’s arm hairs stand on end. Billy managed a chuckle, trying to cover his reaction by lightly bumping his shoulder against Teddy’s playfully. Bad choice, only made his heart race, but it seemed to keep Teddy in the dark.

 

Teddy made a small noise of annoyance when he got to his next class, patting Billy’s shoulder before entering. He wasn’t fond of his English teacher, but he put up with him because he loved studying Shakespeare. Billy gave him a wave before heading back to his locker, switching his books for his drama script. His class was putting together a production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail to perform for the school, and Billy was playing King Arthur himself. He was more than excited for opening night the week after prom, so he easily forgot his worries as he threw himself into rehersal for the next eighty minutes.

 

When the lunch bell rang, Billy finally realized what it was time to do. He rushed upstairs to his locker to put back his script, grabbing his lunch and the box he’d put in that morning. The box was hidden in his pocket just moments before Teddy got there with his own lunch.

 

“Ready? I think Kate’s got brownies or something she made in Porterlance’s class,” Teddy mused, grinning at Billy. Billy nodded, and the two headed downstairs to the cafeteria. As expected, Kate, Tommy, and Cassie were already sitting at the table, a tray of brownies sitting in the middle as Teddy expected. Billy and Teddy took their usual seats, Billy quickly taking the box out of his pocket and hiding it in his lap.

 

Tommy shot Billy a quick glance over Kate’s head, nodding slightly. Billy nodded back just as slightly, turning to Teddy. He placed the little box in front of Teddy without saying anything, waiting for him to notice it. It took him a few moments, and when he did, he tilted his head curiously.

 

At first glance, it didn’t look like much, just a watch-sized box wrapped in green paper and tied with a gold ribbon. Mind, it wasn’t wrapped well and the ribbon was crooked, but that didn’t matter. Billy had tried his best.

 

Teddy picked up the box curiously, carefully untying the ribbon. He let it fall to the table, picking at the wrapping paper so he wouldn’t rip it too badly. Once that was off, ot revealed a simple black box that indeed resembled a watch box. On top was taped a little piece of paper that said ‘open me’ in the style of the ‘drink me’ tag from Alice in Wonderland. Teddy had to chuckle at that, because whoever gave this to him obviously knew it was his favourite Disney movie.

 

Following the directions on the box, Teddy opened the box and gasped softly. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but what he saw definitely wasn’t it. Inside the box was a display that resembled a waterfall settled deep in a forest, complete with what looked like running water and little balls of warm light floating around. The lights seemed to move, forming a word in the air above the box:

 

‘Prom?’

 

Teddy didn’t have to ask who it came from anymore. There was only one person he knew that was capable of this kind of illusion, and he was sitting to his left. Placing the box on the table, Teddy turned to face Billy, having the rest of the group holding their breaths in anticipation.

 

Billy looked down at his lap as Teddy opened the box, looking back up when he noticed Teddy looking at him, and baruh hashem he was glad he did. The smile on Teddy’s face was the brightest he’d seen in the seven years they’d been friends, lighting up his blue eyes like crystals. He felt his breath escape his lungs for a moment before he could really speak, eyes wide.

 

“So?” he asked softly, anciously.

 

“Of course, you idiot,” Teddy grinned, lunging over to wrap Billy in a tight hug. When Billy hugged him back, the three others at the table broke into teasing applause (Tommy even whistled, the little shit). The lights in the box returned to floating around aimlessly, almost shining brighter than before.

 

When the two finally broke apart, they wore matching crimson blushes. Billy glared at Tommy with no real heat, lighting smacking his twin’s arm. “Asshole,” he muttered good-naturedly.

 

“You love me,” Tommy snickered with a sideways smirk. Of course, some kind of higher power had a vendetta against Billy, because just then the bell rang to end lunch. With a small sigh of annoyance, Billy packed up his lunch and stood. Teddy closed and pocketed the box as he got up, and if he briefly grabbed Billy’s wrist and squeezed it, that was his own business.

 

The next two periods went by in a blur for Billy, as he was too busy replaying lunch over and over in his mind. He had to be kicked under the table in art class by Kate because he was projecting onto her in his excitement. He was lucky it was only her, because no one else knew he had any powers.

 

Once the last bell rang, Billy was up and out of art class in mere seconds it seemed, meeting Teddy outside the gym.

 

“Are you able to come over tonight?” Billy asked Teddy hopefully.

 

“My parents aren’t home, so sure,” Teddy smiled, hesitantly taking Billy’s hand in his own as they headed up to their lockers to grab their bags. They didn’t notice the second glances directed towards their joined hands, too busy freaking out over said joined hands. They were superheroes, sure, but they were still high school students that freaked out over crushes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy brings Teddy home to tell his parents, but when do things ever go quite as simply as that when Tommy Maximoff is anywhere near?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy. This was only supposed to be two chapters, but my mind has supplied me with ideas for two more. Shit. Why do I do this to myself??

The twins’ bus driver didn’t even bat an eye at Teddy. He was there pretty much every other day, and despite there being rules against it, the bus driver just left Teddy alone. She wasn’t going to raise a fuss over just one kid. He was polite, more polite than half the kids who were supposed to be on her bus.

 

The twins’ stop was the last one on the route, so the two of them and Teddy watched as the other kids slowly trickled off at other stops. Once they were dropped off, Billy grabbed both his brother and his (boy?)friend by the wrist to teleport them home. Honestly, walking took too long, and he wanted to talk to Teddy.

 

When the trio appeared in the front hall in a flash of blue, Mama didn’t even look up from where she was folding laundry in the dining room.

 

“What have I told you about teleporting from the bus stop?” she called over lightly, obviously not angry at all. She’d given up that fight when the twins started high school, because Billy was just learning to use his powers and usually only did it to bring something important home that wouldn’t last during the walk. “How was school?” she added. “You too, Teddy,” she chuckled, not even needing to look up to know he was there. Billy was _radiating_ pure adoration and affection, which usually meant he’d brought Teddy home.

 

“I still don’t know how you do that, Mrs. Maximoff,” Teddy commented with an amused chuckle. “School was fine.”

 

“Good, good,” Mama smiled, finishing with the laundry to go greet her boys (Teddy was pretty much hers too at this point). She pulled each one into a hug, kissing the tops of their heads in turn. “And Teddy, I’ve told you too many times, it’s Wanda. Mrs. Maximoff sounds like an old crabby English teacher,” she teased, ruffling his hair.

 

“Force of habit,” Teddy admitted, blushing a light red at her touch.

 

Wanda just chuckled, turning back to the twins. “Tommy, there’s something in the garage that you have to bring in,” she told him. Nodding without a word, he dashed off without even leaving his backpack. “And Billy, I’m proud of you,” she smiled, ruffling his hair too. “Take Teddy to the living room, I’ll be in once Tommy comes back. I want to fuss over you,” she smiled, shooing the two off. They did as instructed, going to sit on the couch while they waited for Wanda.

 

Tommy returned a few seconds later, grinning like an idiot with a person in tow. The person was a few inches taller than Tommy, wearing a collared shirt and sweater combo that resembled a college professor. Billy looked over when he heard Tommy return, getting up and off the couch in record time to race over and hug the man.

 

“Papa!” he beamed, sounding like a little kid again. Papa hugged him back with a fond chuckle. “We thought you weren’t coming home until next week.”

 

“Our mission was aborted,” Papa told him. “It was decided that the agents we were observing were deemed non-threatening.”

 

“I’m glad you’re home,” Billy grinned, letting his Papa go. He went back to the couch, curling up at Teddy’s side.

 

Papa followed Billy with his eyes, smiling at the person he was sitting with. “Hello, Teddy,” he called over. “It is nice to see you again.”

 

“You too, Mr. Maximoff,” Teddy smiled, wrapping an arm around Billy without realizing it.

 

“Vision,” Papa reminded him kindly, heading for the living room himself.

 

“Sorry,” Teddy muttered. He was just so used to being formal with adults that he forgot the twins’ parents weren’t too fussy on the matter. Vision just shrugged as he sat on the couch opposite the one they were taking up, a hint of knowledge in his mechanical blue eyes.

 

Tommy sped over to the arm chair under the window, wanting to tease the hell out of his brother as much as possible. Wanda just went to sit next to Vision, shaking her head in amusement at her boys. She was proud of them, even if Tommy did things she shouldn’t be proud of sometimes.

 

“So, did anything… intersting happen at school today?” Wanda asked with a knowing glint in her blue eyes.

 

Before Billy or Teddy could say anything, Tommy snickered and gestured to the pair in question, more specifically the position they were sitting in. Billy was half in Teddy’s lap, with Teddy’s arm casually around his waist. They’d been touchy-feely before, but never like this.

 

“If you count ‘giant dork of a brother growing a pair’ as interesting, than boy do we have a story for you,” Tommy grinned playfully, making Billy blush as red as Wanda’s hair.

 

“Tommy,” Billy groaned. “You’re an ass,” he said bluntly, though there was no heat to it.

 

“Your point?” Tommy shrugged.

 

“Both of you, behave,” Wanda chided, though she was smiling. She’d all but given up truly chiding the twins for bickering when they started their senior year. She remembered her ser senior year, and how stressful it had been for her and her own twin, so she didn’t blame them for bickering to avoid the stress consuming them.

 

Billy shot a fake glare towards Tommy before turning back to his parents. “He isn’t wrong though,” he shrugged. Teddy casually rested his chin on Billy’s shoulder so he wasn’t completely hiding behind him.

 

“Oh really?” Wanda said. “And what did you grow a pair for?”

 

“I got myself a prom date,” Billy said proudl, glancing over at Teddy.

 

“Mind, he was a dork about it,” Tommy interjected with a smirk. “You need to stop teaching him conjuration spells, I swear.”

 

“I will do nothing of the sort,” Wanda said with a faint smile. “What did you make?” she asked eagerly. She loved eharing about the ways Billy utilized his powers, as he was much more creative than she was at his age, and even now.

 

Teddy was the one to produce the box, as he’d kept it in his jacket pocket since lunch. He handed it over to Wanda, who opened it and grinned widely.

 

“Billy, _schatz_ , this is wonderful,” she told him. “You’ve become a strong sorcerer.”

 

“Thanks Mama,” Billy mutterd with a light blush. Praise was not something he took very well, not really knowing how to handle positive comments. Most of the kids and teachers at school had only bad things to say about Billy (though only good things about Wiccan, he’d like to add). Hearing his mother praise him was both pleasing and confusing for him at that point.

 

“It truly is remarkable,” Vision nodded, taking the box from Wanda to properly examine the illusion within. “I have never seen such spellwork, not even from the Sorcerer Suoreme himself,” he mused, handing the box back over to Teddy. “You should be proud of yourself,” he smiled. Praise from his father felt even more foreign and unbelievably to Billy. Not because Vision rarely praised him, but because of the firm certainty he always delivered his praise with.

 

“Thanks Papa,” Billy smiled, his blush darkening slightly. “It took a few tries to get it right,” he admitted. “My first attempt set itself on fire...”

 

“That’s why your room smelled like bonfire last week!” Tommy exclaimed in realization. “How’d you set fire to a _waterfall_?”

 

“I’m still not sure myself, honestly,” Billy shrugged. “Maybe the fairy lights did something,” he reasoned.

 

They all dissolved into talk of training, as they usually did when the topic of powers came up. Uncle Pietro was stopping by the next day to ~~torture~~ train Tommy, and Wanda had convinced Strange to at least see what Billy was capable of. Even Teddy had been included in Wanda and Vision’s arrangements, as they’d told him they had planned something for him the next day as well, but it was a surprise. That made Teddy happy, because no one ever tried to surprise him besides Billy, but Billy was terrible at it in the first place.


End file.
